Detroit, Mich. — From September 14 to September 16, Batch Brewing Company will be celebrating their 4th Oktoberfest since opening their doors in 2015.

While the brewery dons lederhosen and the requisite decorations, they also reassume their alter-ego as Batch Brauerei, focused entirely on the Oktoberfest experience. Throughout the weekend of celebration, Batch Brauerei’s beer menu will be entirely made of German-style beers, with the exception of their Feelgood Tapcollaboration with Hatch Detroit ‘The GORGAntuan’.

The weekend will feature German-style food, as well, highlighting Chef Matt Johnson’s take on Oktoberfest fare, including half roasted chicken, cheese spatzle, and pretzels, among other items.

German music, food, and beer are all a part of Batch Brauerei’s Oktoberfest party, one of the highlights of the brewery’s year. Their Festbier is available on draft at the brewery, as well as in cans. The event is open to the public and free to attend, but a ticketed option exists, which includes a meal, 1L stein, a beer, and reserved seating. Tickets are available on Eventbrite.

Batch Brewing Company has been voted as Best Microbrewery / Brewpub by both Metro Times and Hour Detroit, Best Brewery in Michigan according to Yelp, and was chosen as the #3 Best New Brewery in Michigan by MLive in 2016. Winners of Hatch Detroit in 2013, Batch Brewing Company opened their doors in early 2015. Batch Brewing Company’s original location is at 1400 Porter Street in the Corktown neighborhood of Detroit, and recently launched the Batch Brewing Company Funk Room at 2841 East Grand Boulevard.

WHAT AND WHY: To celebrate the 35th Anniversary of Ashley’s Pub in Ann Arbor, Michigan, Bell’s Brewery has brewed a special commemorative batch of beer. Ashley’s 35th Anniversary Ale is an Imperial Oatmeal Stout with an ABV of 8.5%. It will only be available on draught.

Bell’s previously brewed a Brown Ale to celebrate the 30th Anniversary of Ashley’s in 2013. Larry Bell also celebrates 35 years with Bell’s Brewery this year. Bell founded the Kalamazoo Brewing Co., specializing in homebrew supplies and ingredients, two years before the brewery sold its first commercial craft beer.

“Ashley’s exists to help people to have a great time. One of the ways we do this is by offering great beers like Bell’s. We’ve been serving Bell’s continuously since Larry first started to bring his beers over to us back in the mid-1980s” Roy More, Co-Founder of Ashley’s said.

“It is not how many lines of beers a place has, but the beers on the lines. That’s why we offer Bell’s,” he added.

WHO: Bell’s Brewery is the oldest and largest independent craft brewery in Michigan and the 7th largest craft brewery in the country. Ashley’s Pub is one of Bell’s earliest supporters and one of the oldest pubs in the state.

WHERE: This limited, anniversary stout will only be available on tap at Ashley’s Ann Arbor (338 South State St.) and Westland (7525 N. Wayne Road) locations in addition to Bell’s Eccentric Café (355 E. Kalamazoo Ave.) in downtown Kalamazoo.

Detroit, Mich. — Batch Brewing Company has debuted their September Feelgood Tap beer the ‘GORGAntuan’ as a fundraiser for Hatch Detroit and named in honor of founder Nick Gorga. The brewery will be contributing $2 from each glass of GORGAntuan sold to Hatch Detroit.

Hatch Detroit was established in 2011 to support the growth of independent retail in Detroit, Hamtramck, and Highland Park. One of the organization’s most recognized programs, its annual contest, introduces 10 aspiring entrepreneurs to the city, ultimately awarding one business with a $50k grant from Comerica Bank, and $200K in support services. In 2013, Batch Brewing Company won Hatch Detroit’s business incubator contest, and has since gone on to grow and expand, including their new facility ‘The Funk Room’ on East Grand Boulevard in the North End neighborhood.

The fundraising concept was launched in 2015 at Batch Brewing Company. The Feelgood Tap has since gone on to become a 501c3, fundraising for nonprofits across Michigan through craft beer sales. More than 35 breweries, bars, and restaurants have partnered to raise money through the Feelgood Tap.

“The Feelgood Tap was a part of our business plan from early on,” said founder Stephen Roginson. “It was important to us that we were doing more than making beer and making money. The community has provided tremendous support to our business, and Hatch Detroit has been a big part of that. It’s our honor to pay that forward.”

“Stephen and his team at Batch Brewing are the perfect example of why we started Hatch Detroit, to support incredible entrepreneurs who recognize the pivotal role they play in their communities,” said Nick Gorga, founder of Hatch Detroit. “We are thrilled and humbled that Batch has chosen Hatch Detroit as its Feelgood Tap beer and we hope the GORGAntuan is a huge success for both Batch and Hatch.”

The GORGAntuan is an Imperial IPA ringing in at 10% ABV. Medium-full bodied, smooth mouthfeel and notes of tropical fruit, candy sugar and pine. It will be available at Batch Brewing Company throughout the month of September.

Batch Brewing Company has been voted as Best Microbrewery / Brewpub by both Metro Times and Hour Detroit, Best Brewery in Michigan according to Yelp, and was chosen as the #3 Best New Brewery in Michigan by MLive in 2016. Winners of Hatch Detroit in 2013, Batch Brewing Company opened their doors in early 2015. Batch Brewing Company’s original location is at 1400 Porter Street in the Corktown neighborhood of Detroit, and recently launched the Batch Brewing Company Funk Room at 2841 East Grand Boulevard.

About Hatch Detroit:

Hatch Detroit is a Michigan based 501(c)(3) organization supports both existing and new retail initiatives in the cities of Detroit, Highland Park and Hamtramck. Hatch Detroit was founded in 2011 to give residents and aspiring entrepreneurs a voice in the redevelopment of Detroit. Beyond its annual contest, Hatch Detroit provides funding, exposure and mentoring in support of its alumni entrepreneurs. Together, Hatch Detroit alumni have opened 34 businesses, employ over 500 people, and have invested over $6.5 million in their businesses. To learn more, visit www.hatchdetroit.com.

Lansing, Mich. – The Michigan Licensed Beverage Association will host a new beer festival this fall. The first annual Beers, Bar Food and Bands will celebrate the eponymous trifecta on September 8, 2018 from 3-8 p.m. at Adado Riverfront Park in Lansing.

“People come out and they want a good drink, they want good food and they want good music,” said I’m A Beer Hound’s Paul Starr, festival organizer and the force behind Lansing Beer Fest and Beerfest at the Ballpark. “If you accomodate all those things, people are going to have a great time.”

Beers, Bar Food and Bands will replace Beerfest at the Ballpark Fall. This new festival will celebrate “world class beer,” with over 40 local, regional and international microbreweries, cideries and distilleries offering over 150 craft beverages. Many of the breweries represented will be from out of state and across the pond, including the likes of Alaskan Brewing, New Belgium Brewing Company, Sierra Nevada, as well as a variety of top tier German and Belgian breweries.

“We’re not bringing in mainstays, we’re bringing in something that beer geeks are going to get excited about,” Starr said.

Food is a central feature of the event, Starr said. As many as 15 greater Lansing eateries will be furnishing samples of their best bar food, with dishes like gourmet tacos, pizza, chili and wings—“all kinds of beer-drinkin’ food,” Starr said. Food samples can be purchased with food tickets, which are not included in the festival ticket cost and will sell for $1 each. Sample prices will vary between participating restaurants.

The Darin Larner Trio will open the music portion of the festival, providing southern rock tunes. Other bands performing include LOA, Off The Ledge and Vandalay, which Starr described as some of Lansing’s best musical acts.

Proceeds from the festival will benefit the National Hospitality Institute, a nonprofit encouraging safety in hospitality by overseeing online and classroom seminars for everything from server training to food safety courses. The institute trained Beers, Bar Food and Bands volunteers to safely dispense alcohol and not over-serve festival patrons.

“This event has so many layers to it,” Starr said. “I think that will make it strike a chord with more people.”

General admission tickets are available for $30 and come with 10 tickets for beer. VIP tickets cost $40, come with 15 beer tickets and enable festival access an hour early at 2 p.m. Designated Driver tickets are $15. All tickets can be purchased online.

Traverse City, Mich. – Seven years ago Matt Cozzens and Jim Smolak had a dream to bring great beer and great food to Traverse City. They dreamed big, opening their craft beer bar with an almost unheard of 46 taps; wine, cider, local mead; and an ever changing bottled beer selection. Fast forward to today and 7 Monks Taproom – thrice named to Draft Magazine’s 100 Best Beer Bars in America – is celebrating a monumental anniversary.

According to co-owners Matt Cozzens and Jim Smolak, it’s time to party. And they plan to do just that on Sept. 22 as they present the “7 Monks Experience” from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. in the Back Abbey.

“This celebration captures the best of our past 7 years of friendships created through beer,” said Cozzens.

Schilling Beer Co./Resilience Tent featuring Travese City friends who operate these great breweries out in the White Mountains of New Hampshire

Trappist Tent featuring Chimay, Rochefort, and other Trappist gems

Founders Brewing Co. Tent

Left Foot Charley Winery and Tandem Ciders Tent

Taqueria Las Lagunas food truck will be on site in the Back Abbey, and Timed Tappings will take place throughout the event, including:

4 p.m.: Transient Artisan Ales (Bridgman, MI)

6 p.m.: Speciation Artisan Ales (Grand Rapids, MI)

8 p.m.: HOMES Brewery (Ann Arbor, MI)

10:30 p.m.: Mystery Tapping

No party is complete without live music, and 7 Monks is ready to serve up the best.

“We are thrilled that we will be joined by Jesse Ray and the Carolina Catfish and The Go Rounds,” said Smolak.

Tickets are $7 each and include your first pour (12 oz.) of any draft beer featured in the Back Abbey. Event tickets may be purchased by visiting 7 Monks Taproom in Traverse City or by going online to ?. Additional drink tickets will be available to purchase on-site for $5 per 12 oz. draft pour. Attendees must be 21+ to enter the Back Abbey.

About 7 Monks Taproom:

7 Monks Taproom is a craft beer bar and gastropub that has twice been named one of America’s Best Beer Bars by Thrillist and to Draft Magazine’s 100 Best Beer Bars in America for three consecutive years. With a heavy focus on Belgian Ales, especially Trappist beer, European ales and lagers, 7 Monks also offers a variety of wine, cider, and the best craft beers from Michigan, the United States, and the world. 7 Monks-Traverse City is located at 128 S Union St and 7 Monks-Grand Rapids. Visit them online at 7MonksTap.com.

Muskegon, Mich -– Muskegon’s Pere Marquette Beach will ignite on August 25, 2018, for the 4th Annual Burning Foot Beer Festival. Serving as Michigan’s only barefoot beer festival on the beach, festival goers can enjoy some of the finest craft beer found in the Great Lakes region, revel in local art and food, groove to local and national music acts, and take in the beautiful shoreline of Lake Michigan. Burning Foot will feature 70 breweries this year from Michigan, Illinois and Wisconsin.

A stellar lineup of music acts will be gracing the main stage with this year’s headliner to be Eve 6. The last two years, Burning Foot has featured the Sublime tribute band Badfish on the main stage. This year the festival will feature two of Sublime’s contributing members Michael “Miguel” Happoldt and Marshall Goodman “Ras MG” performing with the The Long Beach Dub Allstars. Local bands Mustard Plug and Flexadecibel will be returning to the festival this year, having both previously shared the Burning Foot stage in 2016. A new waterfront stage will be featured at the festival this year, with acoustic performances by Brett Dame and Brother James.

Another new aspect to the festival for 2018 is the approach to its food. In years past, they’ve curated some delicious custom menus, but now they’ll be getting 4 local restaurants involved to take the reigns. The official food vendors will be Hamburger Mikey, Rad Dads’ Taco & Tequila Bar, Bone Ends, and Fatty Lumpkins Sandwich Shack.

Burning Foot Beer Festival loves the community it’s located in, and in addition to working with local restaurants will also be involved with some wonderful non-profit organizations. Coming back again is Habitat for Humanity, who runs our Bike Valet, as well as Noah’s Project who operates the Shoe Check-In. (No Shirt, No Shoes, No Problem!) The latest addition, Kid’s Food Basket, will be taking care of the new Pretzel Necklace area of the festival.

The Lakeshore Brewers Guild promotes the local craft beer industry and the lakeshore’s natural beauty. As a supplement to the Michigan Brewers Guild, the Lakeshore Brewers Guild is focused on counties that touch Lake Michigan. States included are Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, and Wisconsin. Throughout these counties, the guild is working with its members to build the “Lakeshore Ale Trail,” a region rich in craft breweries, natural beauty, and the economic benefits that flow from successful locally-owned and oriented businesses. Through these collaborative efforts, the Lakeshore Brewers Guild is becoming a driving force in supporting both its members and local economies.

GRAND RAPIDS, MICH. — The Beer City Brewer’s Guild is hosting the second annual Beer City Pro-Am, a competition that pairs local award-winning homebrewers with microbreweries to create unique recipes to be brewed and shared with the public.

This year’s event brings together 25 of the area’s best homebrewers with Grand Rapids microbreweries. Qualifying homebrewers were selected from the winners of local homebrewing competitions.

“It’s a good chance to connect the homebrewing community and the craft brewing community, because there’s a lot of commonality there,” said Nick Rodammer, co-founder of the event and Pro-Am Committee chair. “It’s also a good chance for local homebrewers to get a little bit of exposure for the quality of the beer they are making.”

Entries will be tapped in participating microbreweries’ taprooms for public enjoyment starting July 30 through August 3.

“I think we have a lot of really interesting releases this year,” Rodammer said. Lagers, ales and a variety of fruit-infused styles make the list, which can be found on the Beer City Brewer’s Guild website.

The beers will be judged by a panel of local, qualified judges based on aroma, appearance, flavor and mouthfeel. The winner will be announced at the Beer City Brewer’s Guild’s annual summer picnic on August 11.

Competing brews will also appear in two tap takeovers. Horrocks Market Tavern will have five Pro-Am entries on tap on August 3 from 5-8 p.m.Logan’s Alley will have 18 of the collaborations on tap from August 10-13, including last year’s winning entry from City Built Brewing Company and homebrewer Paul Arends: Monroe Weiss.

City Built Brewing Company had only recently opened its doors when its collaboration with Arends won last year’s competition. Edwin Collazo, co-founder of City Built Brewing Company, said he was still very involved with the Grand Rapids homebrewing community at the time. Collazo said he can see how maintaining a connection with local homebrewers can benefit the larger brewing community.

“How much better will our beer get and how much more innovative will our breweries continue to be because we’re brewing with people who are doing five-gallon batches, reading Zymurgy and other homebrew magazines,” Callazzo said. “[Homebrewers are] super passionate about they do too, so I think the chance to collaborate with them is a great thing for Beer City as a whole.”

And because the Pro-Am competition pairs the best of the best with the professionals, team members have plenty of knowledge to offer.

“It’s truly a collaboration. We really learn from each other,” Rodammer said.

https://i2.wp.com/mittenbrew.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/BCBC_ProAM-2.jpg?fit=1500%2C555&ssl=15551500Marie Orttenburgerhttps://mittenbrew.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/MittenBrewLogo.pngMarie Orttenburger2018-07-26 12:05:092018-08-23 21:07:36Grand Rapids Homebrewers and Breweries Team up for Beer City Pro-Am

Lansing, Mich. — The 6th Annual Lansing Beer Fest is coming back to REO Town, Lansing on Saturday, June 16th on Washington Ave. between South St. and Elm St. from 4-9pm, with special VIP entry starting at 3pm.

This year’s festival features live music, just like years past. Headlining this year is Heart of Jordan , a local Lansing Hard Rock/Alt-Metal band, with supporting acts by the Jonestown Crows and Handsome Pete.

In addition to great music, this year’s festival is hosting 25 different breweries, cideries, and distilleries with 80 different selections to choose from. There will be several beer specific vendors.

Like last year, there will be a Giant Chess and Checkers set for more entertainment, and a Giant Connect Four has been added for extra fun.

The food choices are to be just as excellent with options from Shove It Pizza Truck, featuring the hottest pizza options, Ms. K’s Kitchen, with gluten-free options, and From Scratch Food Truck, serving fresh Mediterranean options. There’s sure to be a delicious option for everyone.

General Admission tickets (4pm entry) can be purchased in advance for $32 and $37 at the door, and includes a Logo Sampling Glass as well as 10 Sampling Tickets. VIP tickets (3pm entry) can be purchased in advance for $42 and includes a Logo Sampling Glass plus 15 Sampling Tickets.

Must be 21 to attend. Designated Driver tickets can be purchased for $10.